Happier Abroad Forum Community

As I mentioned in my last post, I got fired without just cause from my job at the end of August, and got a 5 figure severance package. I can still sue my former employer for wrongful dismissal, and might do so. I think my trip to the Philippines in May influenced my dismissal. After I got back and started working at the same job I'd had for 8 years and for 20 years in the same kind of job and industry, I was so depressed I didn't care what happened, so I had the balls to report them to the Employment standards branch. Funny how after working for 20 years and being successful and enthusiastic about my job, I lasted less then 3 months at it after going to The Philippines.

So since the end of August I've been extremely lazy and sleep in everyday, usually until at least 10 sometimes even 11.30. I try to only buy food, and save as much money as possible. Even before I went to The Philippines, I've made it a mission to sell as much of my stuff as possible online and have made about $1500 since January. I still have a large amount of stuff to sell, and have 2 pages of my stuff on craigslist,and re-list it every 48 hours. It's a slow process, but every week I sell something, and every little bit helps. I also look for more of my stuff to sell and list it also. I even went to the local flea market 2 weeks ago but had no luck there.

I applied for Employment Insurance for the first time in my life and was awarded the maximum amount, $436 every week, or about $1744 a month, but it only starts at the beginning of December, so I have to wait another 2 months before I get anything. My goal is to live on less than half the monthly payments and save $1000 a month. It will go on for 38 weeks, or until next August. So from December until August I will get about $16568, and plan to save $9000. The catch is of course I have to look for another job, and I can't Leave Canada. If I do, they record it on re-entry and dock the time I'm gone from my pay.

My plan is to rent or sell my place and split to The Philippines ASAP. The problem is I applied to rent my apartment, but was denied because my building has a rental cap of 6 suites and they are already at the max. So until someone, sells, dies, or moves, I can't rent it for now, so my only goal is to sell it. Thing is if it doesn't sell and I can't rent it, I'm stuck here, which is just so depressing I don't want to think of it. Once I have it listed for sale, I will have to accept lower offers just to get the hell out of here. Once it has sold I will stay with my parents in Victoria.

The thing is, I want to be in the Philippines NOW, but until I rent or sell I can't leave. Even if I go there now and come back before the beginning of December, Customs Canada will report me as having left and returned and they will deduct this from my pay starting in December, even if they haven't started to pay me yet! So if I go now to the Philippines for a month and then come back, they will remove a month of EI and start paying me at the beginning of January, so their is no point in going anywhere now.

If I do sell my place and move back in with my parents in Victoria, I then have the dilemma of whether or not to suffer in Canada until august and get EI, or just forget the EI and got to the Philippines right away. If I do sell my place, combined with what I already have I have the potential to have a massive bank account, over $400,000! My financial adviser says he can get me about a 5% tax free secure yearly rate of return on that, or about $20,000 a year, plenty to live on there and be secure for the rest of my life. I'm only 40 now.

So that's my current situation. I will continue to sell as much of my stuff as possible, and save as much as possible and then one day I will decide to sell my place and hopefully succeed ASAP. Depending on when that happens, I will move in with my parents again and then decide when to split to The Philippines. If I do sell my place and have m huge bank account, I think I won't care about the EI payments and I will go the Philippines ASAP. The worst case scenario is if I sell my place, an want as much money as possible I will go to the Philippines in August after my EI runs out. If I sell soon, then I can go anytime. I actually want to remain in my condo as long as possible though, because I can have the privacy I don't have at my parents, and I can continue to sell as much of my stuff as possible.


Until then I will start to back to the Japanese language exchange school. They actually called me recently and said how they missed me and wanted me to come back asap! I told them I would as long as they got me talking to as many girls as possible, and they said OK! LOL I was going there until last spring, but got pissed off at some of the Japanese girls I met there and quit going. Trust me, some of the Japanese girls I met there are just as bad as white women behavior wise. Some real flakes I met there. They look better, and don't smoke, do drugs, have tattoos, but attitudes can be just as bad. Japan is the most Westernised and wealthy country in Asia and it shows in some of the girls. They are better than the locals, but the Filipinas still beat them hands down. Speaking of the local Filipinas here in Canada, and their are lots of them, I've noticed something really sad about them. Most are fat and have bad skin. They all work at the same kind of jobs as they do in the Philippiness, but appearance wise, their is no comparison...


I'll keep members posted on my progress to being Happier Abroad. I went to the Japanese school last week and already got a hang out with the girl I met, who is 17 years younger than me, but doesn't know it. I've noticed I get quite a reaction out of girls when I tell them I don't work and am retired now. I am 40 but looks 30 and so they are amazed and want to know more about me. I'm deliberately vague and when they ask me what my work used to be, I say I worked with money.

I hope all your plans work out for you. Now is a good time to sell any real estate you have and move to PI. You want to be as far away from the anglosphere as possible if your ever going to be happy with your personal life. You can easily find a Filipina online in PI that has a house and job to shack up with to help with your relocation expenses and any other problems you need help with. hehe.

Coming to the Philippines is a life changing event for most men. I've been here 4 months now I can't see myself ever going back. For the first time in my life I can live freely in male dominated society, I'm no longer a doormat, slave or pawn. I'm married now but it makes me feel warm inside every time a woman half my age flirts with me(usually everyday). I even had two pregnant Filipinas staring at me last week much to my surprise. I should also mention, Filipino men are very polite as well and easy to cope with.

Well if it means anything to you I've been here for 8 years now and nothing much changes, the country is pretty much stuck in neutral or reverse. In actuality it seems to get slightly less tolerable every year. So don't worry about there being a shortage of girls or what-not, this place is so f'ed up it will take 50-100 years or longer for things to really change for the better, if at all. Do your thing in Canada, get as much money as you can and settle everything before coming over here.

BTW, you should use Ebay to sell your stuff on, not Craigslist. I got rid of all my junk really quickly doing that before I left the states.

Good luck!

Coincidentally I've just been emailed about some jobs in the Phillies - anyone with an IT background let me know (these are senior positions for seasoned professionals). It proves there are good jobs out there.

I used to use eBay but stopped about 7 years ago when the fees became just too high. I now use Craigslist, Kijiji, and a Canadian site for selling Audio/video equipment, called Canuck Audio Mart. Besides, a lot of the things I have are too big to ship. Anything I don't sell I will leave at my parents house. I have everything imaginable I could find for sale, including, pens, pencils, belts, shoes, scarves, keychains and telephone cables. Many I have been trying to sell since January, but every week, a few things sell, and I find a few more things I can sell. I even have some items starting at $1, but everything makes a difference. Even selling something for $5 feels great. Many people would have just thrown out or given away a lot of the items I have sold, so it feels great. It's amazing how much useless stuff people including myself can accumulate. I now wish I had started selling all this nonsense I own a long time ago. The feeling of owning as little as possible and only what I need is amazing!

I'm also buying things I will need for my life there, and I'm getting everything as small as possible. I ordered the Sony Xperia mini pro unlocked cell phone that is about the length and width of a credit card but still has slide out qwerty keyboard to make texting there as easy as possible. I hope the music player and camera in it are good enough that I can get rid of my Sony mp3 player and Panasonic digital camera, and go from 3 items down to 1. I am getting the worlds smallest auto open/close umbrella at only 7" when closed, to protect me from the Philippine Sun and small enough to keep in my cargo shorts pockets. I found one that is only 5" when closed, but it is manual open/close only. I got a Simran small universal voltage travel power bar with 3 outlets that accept any plug in the world, and has a cord that wraps around the body when not in use. I have a Philips QC5550 cordless rechargeable hair clipper/electric razor with travel pouch and universal voltage so I can cut my hair and shave anywhere. My speakers for my laptop are Ucubes and are USB powered so have no power supply and I got the travel case with them. I even got a travel bidet with pouch so I can keep myself clean anywhere. So everything I am getting is as small and portable as possible, and works anywhere in the world. I'm also trying to get as many things as possible that don't need batteries or power supplies. I got rid of my battery powered nose and ear hair trimmer and got a terrific manual one called the Platinum XL by groom-mate, every man should own one. Also ditched my powered speakers with AC adapter and battery powered mouse for USB powered ones as mentioned. I'm also looking to get a solar charger and make use of the strong Philippine sun.

I also just can't see myself ever leaving the Philippines once I am there. The positives just out weigh the negatives in every way. I now look down on western society so much I think it is actually unhealthy for me to live here. I also now realize that mens and womens roles here are reversed and it infuriates me. Here in Canada, women behave and look like macho foreign men, while men behave like quiet, submissive foreign women. Absurd and ridiculous, and I want no part of it. I actually want to leave here so much not only to be happier there in the Philippines, but to prove to others how I despise western society and western women. I'm looking forward to posting my departure and reasons on facebook.